Modification and assembly of titanate sodium nanotubes

Titanate sodium nanotubes Na2Ti2O4(OH)2 are surface-modified by n-octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) because of the existence of Ti-OH at the surface of nanotubes. TEM image shows that nanorods are formed after the modification. The rodlike nanostructures may be caused by the special packing of these surface-modified nanotubes through hydrophobic interaction between the long fatty chains. The nanorods can also be assembled at the air-water interface by using LB technique.